International Women’s Day: Meet Bharati, the Shero of modern India

Deskera congratulates all women on the occasion of International Women's Day

On this International Women’s Day, let’s all spare a thought for the millions of toiling women making a difference to the world today. Often their contributions go unsung or unheard. Deskera takes this opportunity to thank all the women who have fought against all odds to make it big in life.

Today, we bring to you the story of Bharati Nathwani, founder and owner of Darsh Group of Companies–one of the unsung “She-roes,” who chased her dreams and succeeded in transforming them into reality. She is an inspiration for the scores of women trying to get their foot through the door and stands out for her perseverance and achievements. This story is the journey of a woman entrepreneur who took her company from a modest Rs. 4000 to Rs. 4 crore. Now, she dreams of making it Rs. 400 crore. She is truly a role model for all of us as she has achieved success without shirking her other roles and responsibilities. She is a brilliant innovator, a caring wife as well as a dutiful daughter—all rolled into one. Here is her story in her words:

The cliché

I chose the same path as most of the youngsters of my age. After completing my studies in 1995 I worked as a software engineer at a garments distribution firm. Here, I worked at a retail software company on inventory management and an online ordering system to book orders from warehouses. My five-year stint there taught me a lot. I was climbing up the ladder fast. In my next organization which was a software development company, I was at the peak of my professional career, leading the West region of India. Everything was perfect for me.

The turning point

You never know what destiny has in store for you. My life changed suddenly when my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I had to leave my job and was clueless about my future. That was the time when my mentor and director at the Vedha group (My second company), Mr Shoaib Ahmed encouraged me to start something of my own. He told me that owning a business provides flexibility that cannot be had in a job. Thus, I started my own venture: Darsh InfoTech Pvt. Ltd on 1 Aug 2008.

The struggle

When I began my venture, I had left my job at a high and respectable position with a handsome compensation package. So, initially, this struggle with finance made me feel depressed. I used to work at nights even while tending to my father during the day at the hospital. I also struggled with money. I rented a small retail store which could barely fit a table and two chairs. I had a second-hand laptop but no printer. For every invoice I had to go to the cyber café. During those days there were hardly any invoices via emails and the hard copy culture was dominant. I must thank Jai Savan, my co-director, without whose strong backing none of this would have been possible. We both complemented each other, with him heading the technical side of business while I looked after the sales and finance sides.

The growth saga

We got our first big order from Madura Fashion & Lifestyle to do their inventory audit for the entire western region. Today, I can say with pride that Madura Fashion & Lifestyle continues to be one of our biggest clients. There was no looking back after that.

In 2012, my husband and I started Darsh Services. We provided different types of services like Audit services and Technical helpdesk to esteemed customers such as Raymonds, Vodafone, VIP luggage, and more. Until 2015, Darsh only catered to retail solutions. Being the ambitious person that I am, I now want to move my company from Rs. 4 crore to Rs. 400 crore turnover. This vision of mine got me associated with Deskera, a global provider of cloud-based business software solutions. I would to like thank Deskera for providing me a platform that can help me realize my dreams.

Deskera has given us our big ticket solution business. For the ERP business, my close friend Mr. Kushagar Qazi joined us and we started our third company in 2016. We are doing good in entry-level ERP and our aim is to acquire leadership position in mid-segment ERP as well. From a small company to Darsh group of companies, the journey has been a bumpy road. But I am not tired, and the sky is my limit.

Muqbil Ahmar is the Editor of Run Your Business Site and Technology Evangelist. He is an avid blogger and a storyteller. With more than 10 years of experience in journalism, he looks at technology from the prism of society. Armed with an M.Phil in Science Policy Studies from JNU, he wants to bring about better understanding between technology and society to make the world a better place to live in.